Procedural Conference - W-01445A-26-0040 & 0042 - Arizona Water Company

meeting

Arizona Corporation Commission 13 min 8 agenda items transcribed 3 days ago official recording ↗

▲ 0

Transcript

jump: agenda · find in transcript

Transcript

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

What is the purpose of the procedural conference and which dockets are being addressed?

Sarah Harpering 0:00

Okay. Good morning everybody. Let's go on the record. My name is Sarah Harpering and I'm the administrative law judge assigned to this matter. Um this joint procedural conference is being held for the following dockets. each of which involves a formal complaint against Arizona Water Company. Docket number W01445A 260040. In the matter of the formal complaint of JSH Time LLC, DBA Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club. Hold on a second. Sorry. Can't have the judge making noise up here. Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club against Arizona Water Company. And docket number W01445A 260042 in the matter of the formal complaint of Mountain Brook Enterprises K ⁇ S LLC and Gold Canyon Enterprises M ⁇ M LLC.

Sarah Harpering 1:00

regarding Arizona Water Company's plans to restrict and deny water service in violation of laws and the rules of this commission. So I'll now take the appearances of the parties, starting with your clients, Mr. Crockett.

Jeff Crockett 1:15

Good morning, Judge Harpering. Jeff Crockett appearing on behalf of the complainant JSH Time LLC, which does business as Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club.

Sarah Harpering 1:27

Thank you. And um your clients,

Van Quatham 1:29

Ms. Van Quatham? Good morning, Your Honor. I am here representing Mountain Brook Enterprises K and S LLC and Gold Canyon Enterprises M and M LLC. Thank you. And Ms.

Sarah Harpering 1:43

Grable?

Megan Grable 1:45

Thank you, Your Honor, Megan Graple from Osborne Maladon, on behalf of Arizona Water Company. And on the WebEx is its general counsel and Vice President Robert Speer.

Sarah Harpering 1:53

Okay, thank you. And Mr.

Who are the parties and counsel appearing for the complainants and Arizona Water Company?

Sarah Harpering 1:55

Bobkin and Ms. Scott.

Maureen Scott 1:58

Good morning, Your Honor. Maureen Scott and Sean Bautkin on behalf of the Utilities Division staff. And with us today is Britt Baxter, a co-director in the utilities division.

Sarah Harpering 2:10

Okay, thank you. Um and this procedural conference was called to discuss the process for these matters, but of course since that time there have been motions to consolidate. Staff has filed not in opposition to consolidation. And I don't believe that Arizona water has weighed in yet.

Megan Grable 2:30

Um Your Honor, Arizona Water does not oppose consolidating these matters.

Sarah Harpering 2:34

All right, well then we will do that. Your Honor. Yes, could

Maureen Scott 2:38

I just indicate staff's uh view very quickly? Yes. Um our position on a c formal complaint of this nature is that we normally uh just monitor them. and believe here that the appropriate resolution is either a rate case that is forthcoming or another venue that deals with water rights. We are, however, willing to mediate the complaint if the parties are willing or interested in going that route.

Sarah Harpering 3:06

Okay. And typically when the hearing division requires staff to participate, it's so that you can be sort of a neutral arbiter of what the requirements are. We don't expect you to take a position necessarily on What happened? Um if you understand what I mean. You've seen it before, I've seen it before. Okay. I see that Mr. Baxter's nodding. He's seen it before. Yeah. Um okay, so the process for this matter. Have the parties had any discussions about process and timing?

Why did the judge decide to consolidate the two formal complaints into a single proceeding?

Jeff Crockett 3:44

Your Honor, if I could take the first swing at that, yesterday afternoon I circulated a proposed procedural schedule to uh Arizona Water Company, to Ms. Van Quatham, and to staff. Um Just to give you a touch of background here, we've had the golf courses in Arizona Water Company have had a lot of discussions around these issues over the last year, year and a half. Um I think we just have some disagreements or we just don't see things the same in terms of what Arizona Water Company's responsibilities are vis a vis the the uh The uh the golf courses. And that's why we felt like staff being involved in the context of a mediator could be helpful to get the commission's perspective on what some of these obligations may be as as viewed by the Commission.

Jeff Crockett 4:34

So what we'd like to do to avoid the cost and expense, at least initially, of discovery and testimony in a hearing, is to propose a mediation. And we had briefly had a discussion before the procedural conference this morning about doing that mediation on Monday, May the 4th. And then the procedural schedule would flow after the mediation if the mediation didn't result in a settlement between the parties.